# The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin — Character guide

> Key figures in The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin by Benjamin Franklin.

- [Benjamin Franklin](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/franklin_autobiography_se/characters/benjamin_franklin.md): Author and narrator of the autobiography, a printer, inventor, and statesman.
- [Samuel Keimer](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/franklin_autobiography_se/characters/samuel_keimer.md): Franklin's first employer in Philadelphia, a struggling printer with odd habits.
- [James Ralph](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/franklin_autobiography_se/characters/james_ralph.md): Franklin's close friend in London, a poet and later a political writer.
- [George Whitefield](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/franklin_autobiography_se/characters/george_whitefield.md): Famous evangelist preacher and friend of Franklin during the Great Awakening.
- [John Collins](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/franklin_autobiography_se/characters/john_collins.md): Franklin's boyhood friend from Boston who later fell into debt and drink.
- [Thomas Denham](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/franklin_autobiography_se/characters/thomas_denham.md): Merchant who befriended Franklin in London and employed him in Philadelphia.
- [James Morris](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/franklin_autobiography_se/characters/james_morris.md): Pennsylvania assemblyman and deputy postmaster who worked with Franklin.
- [George Webb](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/franklin_autobiography_se/characters/george_webb.md): An Oxford scholar turned printer's apprentice in Philadelphia.
- [Colonel Dunbar](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/franklin_autobiography_se/characters/colonel_dunbar.md): British officer commanding the rear of Braddock's expedition.
- [Andrew Bradford](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/franklin_autobiography_se/characters/andrew_bradford.md): Philadelphia printer and postmaster, rival to Franklin's business.
- [William Franklin](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/franklin_autobiography_se/characters/william_franklin.md): Franklin's son, later royal governor of New Jersey.
- [Sir William Keith](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/franklin_autobiography_se/characters/sir_william_keith.md): Pennsylvania governor who encouraged Franklin to start his own printing business.
- [Lord Loudoun](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/franklin_autobiography_se/characters/lord_loudoun.md): British commander-in-chief in America during the French and Indian War.
- [General Braddock](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/franklin_autobiography_se/characters/general_braddock.md): British general who led a disastrous expedition against Fort Duquesne.
- [Charles Osborne](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/franklin_autobiography_se/characters/charles_osborne.md): Young friend of Franklin in Philadelphia, fond of disputation.
- [Captain Denny](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/franklin_autobiography_se/characters/captain_denny.md): British officer who served under Braddock and later became governor.
- [Deborah Read](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/franklin_autobiography_se/characters/deborah_read.md): Franklin's future wife, whom he courted before his London trip.
- [Gilbert Tennent](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/franklin_autobiography_se/characters/gilbert_tennent.md): Presbyterian minister and friend of Whitefield in Philadelphia.
- [John Bigelow](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/franklin_autobiography_se/characters/john_bigelow.md): Editor of the autobiography's first complete edition.
- [Thomas Bond](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/franklin_autobiography_se/characters/thomas_bond.md): Physician who co-founded the Pennsylvania Hospital with Franklin.
- [Andrew Hamilton](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/franklin_autobiography_se/characters/andrew_hamilton.md): Prominent Philadelphia lawyer who defended the printer Zenger.
- [Peter Collinson](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/franklin_autobiography_se/characters/peter_collinson.md): London merchant and botanist who corresponded with Franklin about electricity.
- [Tom Jones](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/franklin_autobiography_se/characters/tom_jones.md): A friend of Franklin in London who helped him return to Philadelphia.
- [Thomas Godfrey](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/franklin_autobiography_se/characters/thomas_godfrey.md): Glazier and mathematician, inventor of the quadrant, friend of Franklin.
- [Alexander Pope](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/franklin_autobiography_se/characters/alexander_pope.md): English poet quoted by Franklin in the autobiography.
- [Captain Holmes](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/franklin_autobiography_se/characters/captain_holmes.md): Sea captain and brother-in-law of Franklin who helped him in Boston.
- [General Shirley](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/franklin_autobiography_se/characters/general_shirley.md): British governor of Massachusetts and commander during the war.
- [Deborah Franklin](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/franklin_autobiography_se/characters/deborah_franklin.md): Franklin's wife, who managed his household and business in Philadelphia.
- [Josiah Franklin](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/franklin_autobiography_se/characters/josiah_franklin.md): Franklin's father, a tallow chandler and candle maker in Boston.
- [Samuel Vernon](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/franklin_autobiography_se/characters/samuel_vernon.md): Friend from Boston who lent Franklin money for his London trip.
- [Cotton Mather](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/franklin_autobiography_se/characters/cotton_mather.md): Boston minister whose writings influenced Franklin's moral project.
- [Hugh Meredith](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/franklin_autobiography_se/characters/hugh_meredith.md): Franklin's partner in his first printing business in Philadelphia.
- [Governor Denny](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/franklin_autobiography_se/characters/governor_denny.md): Pennsylvania governor who clashed with Franklin over proprietary issues.
- [Captain Kennedy](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/franklin_autobiography_se/characters/captain_kennedy.md): British naval officer who assisted Franklin in frontier defense.
- [Dalibard](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/franklin_autobiography_se/characters/dalibard.md): French scientist who translated Franklin's electrical experiments.
- [George Keith](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/franklin_autobiography_se/characters/george_keith.md): Quaker preacher whose schism led to the founding of the first Pennsylvania press.
- [Hans Sloane](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/franklin_autobiography_se/characters/hans_sloane.md): London physician and naturalist who purchased a curiosity from Franklin.
- [Stephen Potts](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/franklin_autobiography_se/characters/stephen_potts.md): A workman in Keimer's printing house, later a friend of Franklin.
- [Colonel Spotswood](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/franklin_autobiography_se/characters/colonel_spotswood.md): Former governor of Virginia who met Franklin in London.
- [Governor Clinton](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/franklin_autobiography_se/characters/governor_clinton.md): British governor of New York during the French and Indian War.
- [John Fothergill](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/franklin_autobiography_se/characters/john_fothergill.md): London physician who advised Franklin on colonial affairs.
- [Charles Brockden](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/franklin_autobiography_se/characters/charles_brockden.md): Philadelphia scrivener and friend who helped Franklin with legal documents.
- [David Harry](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/franklin_autobiography_se/characters/david_harry.md): Printer who worked for Keimer and later started his own business.
- [Ebenezer Kinnersley](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/franklin_autobiography_se/characters/ebenezer_kinnersley.md): Friend and collaborator who helped Franklin with electrical experiments.
- [Jean-Antoine Nollet](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/franklin_autobiography_se/characters/jean_antoine_nollet.md): French scientist who disputed Franklin's electrical theories.
- [Poor Richard](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/franklin_autobiography_se/characters/poor_richard.md): Fictional persona of Franklin's almanac, dispensing proverbs and wit.
- [Joseph Watson](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/franklin_autobiography_se/characters/joseph_watson.md): Friend of Franklin in Philadelphia, later a successful merchant.
- [Riddlesden](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/franklin_autobiography_se/characters/riddlesden.md): A dishonest lawyer who tried to cheat Franklin's friend Vernon.
- [James Foster](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/franklin_autobiography_se/characters/james_foster.md): English dissenting minister whose sermons Franklin admired.
- [James Logan](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/franklin_autobiography_se/characters/james_logan.md): Pennsylvania statesman and scholar who lent Franklin books.
- [John Syng](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/franklin_autobiography_se/characters/john_syng.md): Philadelphia silversmith and friend of Franklin.
- [Josiah Quincy](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/franklin_autobiography_se/characters/josiah_quincy.md): Boston merchant who visited Philadelphia and corresponded with Franklin.
- [Lord Mansfield](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/franklin_autobiography_se/characters/lord_mansfield.md): British judge who ruled on colonial legal matters.
- [John Bunyan](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/franklin_autobiography_se/characters/john_bunyan.md): Author of Pilgrim's Progress, which influenced Franklin's writing style.
- [Daniel Defoe](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/franklin_autobiography_se/characters/daniel_defoe.md): English writer whose essays Franklin imitated as a youth.
- [Abel James](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/franklin_autobiography_se/characters/abel_james.md): Philadelphia merchant and friend who urged Franklin to write his autobiography.
- [Le Veillard](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/franklin_autobiography_se/characters/le_veillard.md): French friend who received a manuscript copy of the autobiography.
- [Wygate](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/franklin_autobiography_se/characters/wygate.md): Well-educated printer's apprentice who traveled with Franklin in London.
- [Joseph Breintnal](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/franklin_autobiography_se/characters/joseph_breintnal.md): Philadelphia merchant and member of Franklin's Junto club.
- [William Parsons](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/franklin_autobiography_se/characters/william_parsons.md): Friend of Franklin who became surveyor-general of Pennsylvania.
- [Robert Grace](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/franklin_autobiography_se/characters/robert_grace.md): Ironmaster who helped Franklin with printing equipment.
- [Richard Saunders](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/franklin_autobiography_se/characters/richard_saunders.md): Pseudonym used by Franklin for Poor Richard's Almanac.
- [John Hanbury](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/franklin_autobiography_se/characters/john_hanbury.md): London merchant who helped Franklin with colonial lobbying.

HTML index: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/franklin_autobiography_se/characters